Foundations Of Amateur Radio

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. In Volume 3 - Share the fun - follow the third year of my journey, how to make contacts on HF, how to go on-air QRP, propagation planning, how to deal with trolls, online resources and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio Recently I was asked: "What do you know now that you would have liked to have known when you started in amateur radio?" The hobby of amateur radio is one filled with generosity. Extreme forms of it. People go out of their way to help, to explain, to loan equipment, to help out, to repair stuff and to participate. In the past I've spoken about the negative aspects of this hobby as well. Belligerence, the warlike aggressively hostile nature of individuals and groups in amateur radio is like nothing I've ever encountered elsewhere, and it needs to be acknowledged. In many ways amateur radio is about extremes, generosity against belligerence, very polarising, confusing and challenging. That said, amateur radio is a hobby like no other. It sits in a field of exploration, of discovery, of invention, challenge and experimentation. Amateur radio navigates between scientific and empirical learning. It's regulated to encourage research and at the same time encourages new entrants into

Foundations of Amateur Radio The act of telling someone about something is promoting it, not in a marketing sense, just an awareness sense. The act of not telling someone is keeping a secret. Radio amateurs, and I have no doubt, people who are not, like to plan things. They set-up contests, on-air activities, organise swap-meets, build websites, write articles, invent things, build stuff, and all manner of other amazing activities. Some amateurs talk about what they've been up to, but most just sit quietly, hoping that their brilliance will be discovered by someone. Of course that rarely happens. Let's imagine a contest. It's an activity that you'd ideally want other amateurs to participate in, talking to yourself, on your own is like being a broadcaster and I can tell you, that's a tough gig. A contest is about making contacts between different participating people. So, your contest, it's going to have rules, a planned outcome, say more QRP activity on 40m, and it's going to run at a particular time. I'

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. In Volume 2 - Find the spark - follow the second year of my journey through the hobby of amateur radio, what's the point of Morse code, making contacts during lunch, Magnetic Loop Antennas, keeping your shack tidy, the identity of your callsign and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio If you've ever been on the hunt for an antenna, and let's face it, in amateur radio that's pretty likely, you'll get information about the gain of an antenna. Often someone will tell you that this one has 12 dB gain, versus that one which only has 9 dB. As an aside, I've seen a few videos where people are comparing sound levels and mention that without the fan, there is only 3 dB less noise. What they don't realise is that 3 dB means HALF the noise. The same is true with an antenna. That 9 dB antenna has half the gain of a 12 dB antenna. In the past I've talked about gain. It's always in comparison to something else. If I say "that antenna has 12 dB gain", I'm actually saying: "that antenna has 12 dB gain when compared with an isotropic source". To jog your memory, an isotropic source is a theoretical source of electromagnetic radiation. It cannot actually exist. It radiates uniformly in all directions. Now when we talk about gain, we're saying that our new funky antenna radi

Foundations of Amateur Radio In the past little while you've heard me talk about WSPR, Weak Signal Propagation Reporter and I've told you about signals I've heard across the planet. The longest distance at the time was a HF report, 18656 km from Perth to Pennsylvania, very nice indeed. I switched to monitoring 6m, 2m and 70cm about a month or so ago. My reports had been pretty minimal, from my QTH to the suburb next-door and then two suburbs away. Proof that a station is working, but hardly anything to celebrate or even mention. The other day I came across a report a little further away, Perth to Adelaide, 2142 km away. Not world record beating, or even earth shattering, but proof that 6m propagation does have its moments now and then. Then a surprise contact, Perth to The Rock, not the one in the middle, or the one with the wave, the one on the Olympic Highway between Wagga Wagga and Albury, 2899 km away with 20 Watts on 6m. My reports aren't particularly far or amazing. You might recall Wally VK6YS wh

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. In Volume 1 - Join the hobby - follow my initial journey through the community, what to buy when you start, how to participate in the community, things to practice, what the first steps look like once you have a license, playing in radio contests, encouragement and sharing. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio There is a feeling of anticipation in the air, the year has started, there are so many different ideas bubbling through my mind that I feel like an excited puppy dog wagging its tail. I've been playing with a wonderful piece of software called GNU Radio, more on that in a moment. So, I have for a while been dissatisfied with the offerings of SDR software. There is lots of development going on, lots of new toys being invented and many different hives of activity in this area. It's not unlike the progression from reel-to-reel based radio broadcasting via VHS tape, to computers with audio files. There are lots of solutions solving specific problems, but there are also a group of solutions looking for a problem and only time will sift out which one is worth the effort. In amateur radio we deal with valves, resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, integrated circuits, crystals, connectors, solder and many, many different physical things. I'm a computer guy, have been since

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. Six years in the making, after much prodding from fellow amateurs, the edited transcripts of this podcast are now available as a series of eBook volumes. Covering our amazing hobby with short discussions about hundreds of different topics. In Volume 6 - Joy of discovery - read about microphone technique, the dead band, propagation maps, melting coax, amateur radio satellites, strange antennas, self-training, SOTA adventures and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. Amateur radio is a thousand hobbies rolled into one. I hope you find your way. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio A week or so ago I watched a movie that was simultaneously the funniest and saddest movie I'd seen in a while. "Pecking Order". It follows members of the Christchurch Poultry, Bantam and Pigeon Club in the lead up to the New Zealand National Championships, as they battle history and each other in a quest for glory and for the love of their birds. Think "Best in Show" with Chickens. While watching, all I could see was squabbling radio amateurs. We're having a similar situation in the Wireless Institute of Australia. There is evidence of gross financial mismanagement, claims and counter claims, Directors with an axe to grind, lawsuits and feathers in the mail. I understand that the Radio Society of Great Britain went through similar disruption several years ago. The ARRL is also going through upheaval right now. Rules, conduct unbecoming, expulsions and gag-orders abound. All these experiences deal with how a board conducts itself, how individual members react and how the main m

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. Six years in the making, after much prodding from fellow amateurs, the edited transcripts of this podcast are now available as a series of eBook volumes. Covering our amazing hobby with short discussions about hundreds of different topics. In Volume 5 - Getting on air - read about the perfect SWR, how to become a better operator, what batteries to use, the difference between a propagation forecast and reality, the phonetic alphabet, antenna compromises, Q-codes and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. Amateur radio is a thousand hobbies rolled into one. I hope you find your way. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio What is amateur radio? What's not part of the hobby and what is? The more you dig into this, the deeper the rabbit hole goes. I'll start with an analogy to set the scene. In aviation, Sir George Cayley was the first person to investigate heavier-than-air flying vehicles. He invented the aeroplane in 1799. The first full-sized glider, built in 1849 carried the first person in history to fly, the ten-year-old son of one of his servants. Since then the Wright brothers made their flight at Kitty Hawk. We saw the invention of commercial aviation, the turbo prop, the jet engine, the space-shuttle, helicopters, drones, rockets, hot-air balloons, the Hindenburg, the Goodyear blimps, hang-gliders, gyro-copters and many, many other contraptions. Each of those are considered aviation and the person controlling the device is considered a pilot. In amateur radio we talk on the radio. We also create repeaters and talk on them. We link them together using what ever technology is available.

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. Six years in the making, after much prodding from fellow amateurs, the edited transcripts of this podcast are now available as a series of eBook volumes. Covering our amazing hobby with short discussions about hundreds of different topics. In Volume 4 - Just get started - follow my journey through the amateur radio community, how to use QSL cards, mobile antennas on HF, licensing requirements, policing the airwaves, the super check partial list, packing up coax, lightning protection and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. Amateur radio is a thousand hobbies rolled into one. I hope you find your way. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio There is a saying in my family, which I'll translate into English for you, "No Onno, it's not slippery." This came about when I was ten or so and cycling with my grandmother. It was the middle of winter, it was cold, there was the promise of snow in the air, but nothing had actually fallen. On the little plants, twigs is probably a more accurate term, dotted alongside the cycle path you could see little signs of frost. I was cycling on my shiny new bike and my grandmother was following behind. We came up to a corner on the cycle path and from behind my grandmother called out that I should be careful going around the corner because it was slippery. Being the indestructible ten year old, I called back: "No grandma, it's not slippery." at which point I fell flat on my face. A few years ago I went on a camping trip with my local club to participate in a contest. One member had a tray-top ute and the idea that we could use that as the base of operation. We planned on putting up a 1

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. Six years in the making, after much prodding from fellow amateurs, the edited transcripts of this podcast are now available as a series of eBook volumes. Covering our amazing hobby with short discussions about hundreds of different topics. In Volume 3 - Share the fun - follow the third year of my journey, how to make contacts on HF, how to go on-air QRP, propagation planning, how to deal with trolls, online resources and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. Amateur radio is a thousand hobbies rolled into one. I hope you find your way. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio The social aspects of our hobby are a never ending feast of variety. Since the requirement for becoming an amateur is that you're interested, the assortment of people who arrive at our doorstep can be described as a motley crew. I once stood in a room with radio amateurs and if I recall correctly, between us we had a surgeon, a naval officer, a sailor, a truck driver, a hiking enthusiast, a computer professional, young and old. Some were retired, others hadn't started their careers, there were wealthy people and people on welfare. Some with university degrees, others without. I participate in a weekly lunch, called PRAWNHEADS, been going for 25 or so years. The name is an acronym for the Perth Radio And Wireless Noodle House Eating And Discussion Society. We have a lunch with people from all over the place, visitors from overseas, random interstate drop-ins, new and very experienced amateurs, all mixing it together for an hour or so. If you're ever in Perth on a Wednesday for l

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. Six years in the making, after much prodding from fellow amateurs, the edited transcripts of this podcast are now available as a series of eBook volumes. Covering our amazing hobby with short discussions about hundreds of different topics. In Volume 2 - Find the spark - follow the second year of my journey through the hobby of amateur radio, what's the point of Morse code, making contacts during lunch, Magnetic Loop Antennas, keeping your shack tidy, the identity of your callsign and more. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. Amateur radio is a thousand hobbies rolled into one. I hope you find your way. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio A little while ago I spent some time discussing how to test if your radio was on frequency. It generated lots of comment and email with various suggestions on other ways to do this test, but it also caused one listener to ask the question, what's this Upper Side Band and Lower Side Band thing you're talking about? In the past I've discussed the history of these two, but I've gone back to check and it doesn't appear that I've ever actually explained what exactly Upper Side Band and Lower Side Band might be and how they work and more to the point, why they're important. Let's start where you find these modes. In amateur radio, some bands use Upper Side Band and some use Lower. From a usage perspective it's pretty straightforward, but not obvious. Essentially everyone uses Upper Side Band all the time, except radio amateurs below 10 MHz. There is one exception in that, the 60m band - 5 MHz - uses Upper Side Band. The mechanics aside, what is the point, how does it work and why do

Foundations of Amateur Radio is now available as an eBook. Six years in the making, after much prodding from fellow amateurs, the edited transcripts of this podcast are now available as a series of eBook volumes. Covering our amazing hobby with short discussions about hundreds of different topics. In Volume 1 - Join the hobby - follow my initial journey through the community, what to buy when you start, how to participate in the community, things to practice, what the first steps look like once you have a license, playing in radio contests, encouragement and sharing. Search for my callsign - VK6FLAB - on your local Amazon store to have a Look inside. Amateur radio is a thousand hobbies rolled into one. I hope you find your way. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Foundations of Amateur Radio This morning I spoke with two amateurs on-air. Not that surprising, since I was hosting a weekly net called F-troop for new and returning amateurs. Both amateurs came on-air for the first time in our net, one licensed sixty years ago, the other six days ago. It didn't strike me until long after the net had finished that these two amateurs have a completely different experience in this shared community. One started in a world where megacycles were common, the other knows them as megahertz, one purchased their radio in parts, the other purchased it online, one heard Donald Duck sounds and needed to read about a new mode called Single Side Band, the other is going to be reading about digital modes and how they work, one was dealing with analogue television interference, the other is dealing with plasma screens. Both these operators share many things. They are both licensed radio amateurs, both have the opportunity to participate in contests, attain their DXCC, pull out a soldering